Farm and Soap Updates — soap making

I am sometimes asked if I make goat milk soap and the answer is no, in fact I make cow milk soap! I'm not quite sure when and why goat milk became the "go-to milk" for soap making but you can make soap with any kind of milk (or any kind of water based liquid really!) The only soap I currently make with milk is my Milk and Maple Soap. Both cow and goat milk contain fats, vitamins and minerals that are great for the skin and that make a bar of soap more moisturizing. The cow milk I use...

Every so often I get asked some variation of "the lye question" from customers or prospective customers: Do your soaps contain lye? (yes... and also no) Can you make me a soap without lye? (Nope) Is lye soap bad for your skin? (it depends...) Do your soaps contain lye? First lets talk about the several different ways that lye can appear on an ingredient label. I simply use the term "lye", since it is simple and clear and most folks understand what it is. Another name for lye is "sodium hydroxide" (chemical formula NaOH) which is probably a bit more...

I've heard from many customers lately looking to use my soaps for natural household cleaning. Not only does soap contain a short list of natural ingredients but it is easy to make, ship and use without the use of plastic.  The soap I recommend for these tasks is my Tallow Household Soap (formerly Tallow Laundry Soap). The name change reflects the myriad of uses this soap can be put to around the house, the ingredients remain the same, just tallow, water and lye, or if you prefer the list of ingredients post saponification (the chemical reaction that creates soap) simply...

All of the products that I make at Fat Chance Farm start out as raw pork lard and beef tallow from sustainably farmed animals. The fat must be rendered to be useable but rendered fat is not just for soapmakers! The resulting lard and tallow can be used for cooking, baking and even frying. And we're not talking Hollandaise Sauce folks, if you can chop an onion and fry an egg, you have the necessary skills and tools to render fat! Let's start with the fat. I buy fat in rather large quantities, as you might expect. A productive rendering...